News in Brief

Ghana begins maritime boundary talks with Togo

A team of Ghanaian officials and experts have been sent to Lome, Togo to begin talks with that country’s officials on their boundary demarcations to

ensure that there is understanding between the two countries regarding Ghana’s exploration activities.

The Director of Resource Management and Operations at the Petroleum Commission, Mr. Francis Ackah explaining the rationale behind the decision said two companies exploring for oil have been stopped by the Togolese authorities from exploring close to the boundary line.

He said based on these happenings, there is the need to meet the Togolese officials to deliberate on the emerging issues to bring peace to the area.

“The first threat happened during the legal tussle between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire when a Ghanaian registered company was prevented by the Togolese from exploring because Cote d’Ivoire had roped in Togo in the dispute at the International Tribunal of The Law of The Sea (ITLOS) and Togo wanted all companies to cease operations in the area until the final determination of the case

“The other one was recent and an indication that there is a need to meet our eastern neighbour and discuss the issues. Last week we were in Cote d’Ivoire to discuss the way forward with regard to the implementation of the ITLOS ruling and everything went well,” he stated.

He said Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire have agreed to work together towards the implementation of the judgment of ITLOS.

The two countries, he added, also agreed to continue further engagements within the context of the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) signed last year.

Meanwhile a press release from the Office of the Senior Minister said the delegation was in Cote d’Ivoire to officially inform that country of Ghana’s intention to start with the implementation of the ITLOS judgment on the boundary between the two countries in the Atlantic Ocean by depositing the relevant documents on the issue with the relevant United Nations agencies.

The release said the implementation is expected to assure the investor community of the security of their investment and also ensure that oil blocks can be given right up to the line.

It said the implementation of the judgment is also expected to attract oil industry giants to the deepwater prospects.

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Reporting Oil and Gas project was launched on 4th June 2009 at Takoradi, Western Region, Ghana by Penplusbytes (www.penplusbytes.org) with the vision of providing a one stop online information and knowledge about Ghana’s oil and gas sector
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